25 foods to say hola to in spain

Gambas al ajillo – shrimp with garlic oil. You must love garlic in order to eat this dish. You’ll have garlic breath for days but it is SO worth it
Gambas al ajillo @ Morryssom
Patatas bravas – fried chunks of potatoes, usually paired with a spicy tomato sauce. I think I could live off of these
Patatas Bravas @ El Quim de la Boqueria
Pintxos (pinchos) – mini slices of bread, served with various toppings and a toothpick spike through it. This is typically a bar food. You take what you want, and they count the number of toothpicks you have at the end of your meal to calculate your bill
Jamón and cheese pintxo @ Maitea

Maitea

Beef tenderloin + Foie Gras @ Cerveseria Catalana
Churros – specifically dipped in hot chocolate, and I’m not talking about Swiss Miss. I’m talking actual melted dark chocolate
Churros @ Chocolates Valor
Paella – this one is technically from Valencia, but I’m sure you’ll find good paella in Barcelona. I like to think of this as a Spanish fried rice. You can have it with meat, seafood, veggies – what’s not to love?
Seafood Paella @ El Corte Inglés
Jamón Ibérico – this is cured ham. I mean, you gotta. It’s similar to prosciutto so if you love that, you’ll love this
Jamón Ibérico @ Enrique Tomás

Mercat la Boqueria
Chorizo – cured pork sausage
Morcilla – blood sausage
Meat and cheese plate (includes cheese, morcilla, chorizo) @ Morryssom
Cheese – especially Manchego — again I say – you gotta. You can’t have jamón without the cheese
Mercat la Boqueria
Gazpacho – this is cold soup made of raw, blended vegetables. We had it at el Quim de Boqueria and it was actually my first time trying it in life. I didn’t love it, but when in Spain, right?
Gazpacho @ Quim de la Boqueria
Boquerones – these are anchovies marinated in vinegar or some kind of vinegar/olive oil/garlic mixture. They’re very sour and fishy so if that’s not your thing, then you should probably skip these
Boquerones @ Quim de la Boqueria
Catalan Tomato Bread – basically just tomato-rubbed bread. It’s as simple as it sounds and it’s amazing. It’s the perfect start to a meal. To be honest, I would eat this as a meal
Catalan Tomato Bread @ Morryssom

Catalan Tomato Bread @ Bodega 1900
Albondigas – simply put, these are meatballs, served tapas-style
Spanish omelette – an omelette with potatoes, and sometimes onions. It’s flavorful and filling
Spanish Omelette @ Cortes Inglés
Croquette – every country has their own version but in Spain, they use a thick béchamel sauce, and it’s typically filled with jamón
Croquettes @ Quim de la Boqueria
Bomba – little balls of fried mashed potatoes, stuffed with ground meat. These really are the bomba (had to do it)
Bomba @ Morryssom
Padrón peppers – fried in oil and blistered, these are eaten as tapas. They’re not spicy, although you might get a few stragglers that will have a kick
Padrón Peppers @ Quim de la Boqueria
Bocadillos – mini sandwiches. The most popular one I’ve seen is jamón and cheese
Crema Catalana – Spain’s version of creme brûlée
Crema Catalana @ Cerveseria Catalana
Fruit juice – fresh fruit juice for €1. Whether or not they add anything else to it, I don’t know. I do know that it was delicious
You’ll find these stands all over @ Mercat la Boqueria
Estrella beer – this beer is brewed in Barcelona and has been around since 1876. It’s the perfect accompaniment to some tapas
Estrella with a side of jamón pintxo @ Cerveseria Catalana
Spanish wine – another great accompaniment to tapas, you’ll find that wine is super cheap here. They sell it at the supermarket for a few euros, and the quality is pretty good
Some of these 2 Euro wines from the supermarket taste better than a 12 dollar glass of wine you’d get at a NYC restaurant
Vermouth – this was actually originally from Italy, but it’s very popular in Spain, seeing as they are not-so-distant neighbors. This drink is usually served as an aperitif to stimulate your appetite. There are a lot of vermouth bars in Barcelona, including Bodega 1900 (Albert Adrià-owned, who also owns Michelin-starred Tickets)
White vermouth (left) and red vermouth (right) @ Bodega 1900
McDonald’s – I had the ‘McRoyal’, which wasn’t anything special. I would say it’s similar to a Quarter Pounder in the states. But, their French fries are potato wedges. I would say that’s the only that that was really different on the menu
McRoyal
KFC – this is a bonus one. I normally only try the McDonald’s in each country, but Ben likes KFC much more, so we decided to give this a try as well. I must say, it was better than what I ordered at McDonalds. It was a fried chicken sandwich, with a hash brown. It was disgusting and amazing at the same time